Essay # 11 - Final
Essay
My First Job
Saturdays at the Woolworth’s where I began my working career
were a madhouse. This particular store was on Steinway Street in Astoria,
Queens, one of the boroughs of New York City.
(In case you’re curious, Steinway Street got its name because it led to
the Steinway Mansion and the famous Steinway piano factory. Not relevant to this story, but an
interesting bit of trivia.) Steinway
Street is a typical city street in the Big Apple – miles of stores holding
hands with each other as they line either side of the street, bonds broken only
by necessary intersections with other streets, also lined with buildings on
either side. Since at that time, most
business establishments were still closed on Sundays, Saturdays were the big
shopping day for most of the multitude of residents in the area. This store,
on this street, in this city was my stepping stone to the future as I
had my first real job experience – finding a job, learning the ropes in a job,
and moving up in a job.
That summertime, I
was just 16 years old and finally old enough to apply for work. Woolworth’s seemed a logical choice. It was close enough to walk to, if I needed
or wanted to, but also easily accessible by bus or subway. It was also the type of job that might allow
me to keep working part-time when school started up again. Besides, I had a friend who already worked
there, and having a familiar face nearby always makes any transition easier. I applied for and got the job without any
difficulties. (I guess they realized my
exceptional quality at first glance...)
Stores were a little different in those days. There were no computers, no scanners, no
checkout counters lined up at every entrance and exit. Instead, we had real cash registers located
at various places around the store. We
actually had to know how to count out the proper change to the customers! And my work station was unlike most, even
within my own store. I was assigned to a
counter at the most strategic entrance to the establishment. I say counter, because that is what it was –
a counter that made a long rectangle around my employee area within that
space. On one long side was jewelry; on
the other long side was candy, some of which required weighing. On one short side was the popcorn machine,
and – here I must plea early-onset dementia – I can’t remember what was on that
final short side, but it was something different that needed my attention. And there I was, stuck in the middle with people
on each side demanding that I tend to them RIGHT NOW! Saturdays, as I said, were a madhouse, not
only because it was THE major shopping day of the week, but also because on 2
of the corners of the same intersection as my store were movie theaters. And any frugal American citizen in those days
realized it was to their financial benefit to stock up on candy and popcorn
across the street at the local Woolworth’s rather than pay the exorbitant
prices required for such delicacies once they were seated inside the
theater. And so, on any given Saturday,
I had lines of people on all four sides of my counter DEMANDING my attention. Though this was a very difficult beginning to
my work career, there was one good result.
Through this experience, I learned a valuable lesson. I learned that store personnel are people,
too. They are not unfeeling
machines. When someone would take the
time to smile or say thank you, it was as if he or she had bestowed a blessing
upon me. When customers would patiently
wait their turns, I would thank them profusely.
It was so nice when someone recognized that I, too, was a member of the
human race. This is a lesson I have
never forgotten. To this day, I try to
always thank the employees who serve me.
I even thank the toll booth people as I hurry on my way to my destination. It doesn’t add any time to my trip, but it
recognizes their humanity and may give them a much-needed boost for the day.
Learning to deal with the public, learning how to multi-task
and still maintain order, and just learning to keep up with supply and demand
in my little microcosm of the business world were all part of learning the
ropes in a new job situation. And I must
have done well, because soon I was asked to move up to the more responsible
position of “Office Girl.” Of course, I
took the job, though I don’t remember any pay increase involved. Becoming Office Girl was a step up and I was
thrilled. As Office Girl, I now had new
responsibilities and a new boss. My new
office supervisor was a grumpy, old lady who never had any kids and didn’t like
teenagers at all. My main responsibility
was to periodically collect the money from the various cash registers around
the store, bring it all upstairs to the office, and count and record each
amount separately. This was later
checked against the cash register tapes for accuracy and, of course, possible
theft. I had other office duties, but
they did not require all my time, so I was privileged to pursue a great variety
of store-related activities. Since I was
no longer assigned to any one work station, I would fill in on any area of the
store needing extra help. I worked stock
down the basement or filled in wherever someone was needed in the main
storefront. Woolworth stores in those
days were the tiny forerunners of the big box stores now. We sold everything from pet fish to material,
from household items to books and records, (yes, records, not CD’s!) from
clothing to hardware. And I was able to
work anywhere, something I loved, since I always enjoy doing new things. One of my favorite activities was decorating
the store for holidays. I loved choosing
the ornaments for the Christmas trees, picking whatever decorations struck my
fancy. And one of my most unusual
assignments was as bodyguard when someone was making the bank deposit. (I’ve always wondered what I was supposed to
do should we be attacked on the way. I
do have a good pair of lungs, and I suppose the loud noise might cause the
perpetrators to think twice, but I’m glad I never had to find out if that would
work…) When inventory time came around,
our store received an influx of special machines that made the round of
Woolworth stores. That grumpy, old lady I
mentioned was insistent that the young whippersnapper should never touch one of
those delicate, expensive machines. As
it turned out, she had a medical emergency during the entire inventory time,
and that young whippersnapper and another lady did ALL of the work on those
machines, and never broke a thing!
And so, I was now experienced in the real business
world. I’d found my first job, learned
how to be a good employee, and was beginning to move up in my career. As all good things usually come to an end, so
did this job. Though I did continue working
through summers and after school during the school year for a time, I
eventually graduated from high school and moved on to college and so left the
place that had taught me so much and where I had made many good friends. The lessons that I learned there continue
with me throughout my life. Not only the
lesson of remembering to treat workers as human beings, but also the lessons of
being a good employee myself, and learning how to work with difficult people. I’ve often said that everyone should be
required to work a low-level job dealing with the public. If more people realized what it felt like to
be treated poorly, they would tend to treat others better, and perhaps the
world might be a better place for all.
